Makhado Municipality's mayor, Cllr Shonisani Sinyosi (third from left), was photographed with members of the committee of the Makhado Pastor's Forum shortly after the meeting with some stakeholders on Monday.

“We need God's guidance”

The Makhado Municipality held their inaugural pastors' seminar at the Makhado Show Grounds on Monday. It was aimed at forging an intact relationship between the municipality, the pastors and churches.

The municipality's mayor, Cllr Shonisani Sinyosi, addressed the attendees who comprised pastors, church leaders and other stakeholders. “More than ever, Government needs the church to be the bedrock of moral regeneration and to build a culture of peace and human rights,” she said. “The congregations you lead are a big part of the communities we serve.”

She added that the communities within the municipal area were still affected by the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. “People living in rural areas and farming communities remain the most marginalised, oppressed, abused and violated in the present democratic South Africa,” she said. “We must work together as government and the churches to confront these living conditions.”

The municipality had invited the church leaders and pastors to help the municipality to reflect on the state of the communities in terms of moral regeneration and access to socio-economic opportunities.

“We also ask you to pray for our political leaders, staff and management of our municipality, so that they can discharge their responsibilities with diligence and skill,” she said. “Even if we have educational skills, we need God's guidance to enable us to utilise the very skills for the benefit of our communities.”

At the end of the day, a committee for the Makhado Pastors Forum was elected, comprising 11 members. It will represent the interests of the faith community in matters of local government, advise the mayor on any matter affecting their sector, advocate for positive values and morals in the communities and participate in the Moral Regeneration Movement.

“We are here to recommit ourselves to serve the people of Makhado, and we ask for your prayers and guidance,” she said. “We also ask you to join us in leading a God-guided Council and a God-fearing society.”

A representative of the Makhado Pastors Forum, Pastor John Struwig of the Apostolic Faith Mission at Levubu, said that the pastors welcomed the mayor's move towards establishing a God-fearing Council. “It's heartwarming to know that we've got a Christian mayor who has also asked pastors to be a consultative body to her office,” he said. “We are all happy and willing to work with the mayor's office.”

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Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.